Jamaica
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Private sector groups worried at slide in local currency
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Two private sector organisations are warning that the Jamaican economy is nearing crisis level amid concerns of a rapid slide in the local currency. At the end of trading on Tuesday, the US dollar was being sold at a record J$99.08. At the start of the year, the US dollar was trading just above the J$93…
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Government plans to reduce food import bill by US$300 million
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says it intends to significantly reduce the island’s food import bill, which stands at a staggering one billion (US) dollars. Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Roger Clarke said the intention is to reduce the bill to US$700 in the short to medium term.“We have targeted some 8,000 acres of government lands that we intend…
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EDITORIAL – Arms control and America’s moral obligation
KINGSTON, Jamaica – This newspaper, as a matter of principle, welcomes this week's passage by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly of the long-awaited UN treaty on trade in arms. We would have preferred a more robust document, with specific language against the transfer of weapons to non-state actors, and would have liked the treaty to apply also to domestic…
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Government seeking to get unions agreement on wage freeze
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says it is continuing efforts for a wage restraint agreement within the public service, but not all unions have bought into the initiative which is seen as important to sealing a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Public Utilities Minister Horrace Dalley, said the three-year agreement, which was signed last month, will…
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Jamaicans to know size of 2013/14 budget April 4
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaicans will know what the Government intends to spend during the 2013/14 financial year on April 4, when Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips tables the Estimates of Expenditure for that year in the House. Tabling of the Estimates will follow the State Opening of Parliament, when Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen will deliver the Throne Speech outlining the…
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IMF, World Bank not doing enough for debtor countries
KINGSTON, Jamaica – IN recent years, the small states of the Caribbean have experienced low rates of economic growth, with the last rapid growth spurt in the 1980s that was fuelled mainly by expansion of tourism, banana exports and public investments. The slowdown that started in the 1990s was triggered by the loss of trade preferences for sugar and bananas,…
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Jamaica looking to further develop hydro power sector
sector KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Italian consulting firm, SP Studio Pietrangeli will undertake a J$109 million (US$ One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) feasibility study on five potential hydro power sites across the island. The Ministry of Energy says it will partner with the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) in undertaking the feasibility project being carried out as part…
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Ja must prepare for a major earthquake – US expert
KINGSTON, Jamaica – United States seismic expert Professor Eric Calais has called for Jamaicans to put in place long-term strategies to prepare for another major earthquake on the island. An article published Monday by the Claims Journal website noted that based on the area's history and active seismic activity, the threat can become real. “It's impossible for scientists to determine…
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PetroCaribe projects face unsure future
KINGSTON, Jamaica – With looming uncertainty over the PetroCaribe Energy Cooperation Agreement, following the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, there is concern that the future of the projects under the cash-rich PetroCaribe Development Fund (PDF) is also unsure. With an asset base of $241.2 billion up to January 2013, the PDF was set up in 2006 to undertake a…
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Changes and youth in West Indies cricket welcome
welcome KINGSTON, Jamaica – CONGRATULATIONS to Jamaican Wycliffe “Dave” Cameron and Dominican Emmanuel Nanthan at being elected to the ultra-important positions of President and vice president, respectively, West Indies Cricket Board. These are positive examples of youth not at all having been wasted on the young! Observing Cameron and Nanthan posing for media photographs reminded me much of the youthful…
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